Helen P. Bopp, a retired Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. manager and active churchwoman, died Jan. 18 of pneumonia at St. Joseph's Nursing Home in Catonsville. She was 91.
Helen Patricia Bopp, the daughter of a pharmaceutical salesman and a homemaker, was born on William Street and raised on Edgewood Street.
After graduating from Seton High School in 1937, she began her 44-year C&P career as an operator. She was promoted through the ranks and worked as a manager in Washington and Baltimore before retiring in 1981.
Since 1961, Miss Bopp had been a longtime active communicant of St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Catonsville, where she was a lector and Eucharistic minister, led the daily Rosary and attended daily Mass.
She was also an active member and former president of the church's Ladies Auxiliary, raising money for the parish school, and visiting and entertaining residents of Ridgeway Manor Nursing Home.
Miss Bopp also served as a member of the Liturgy Committee, helping to coordinate special liturgies for Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day. She was also a member of the Sodality.
She had been a member of the Monsignor Roche Scholarship Board, which awards scholarships to eighth-graders from the parish. The board was named for Monsignor Maurice W. Roche, who had served as St. Agnes pastor from 1942 to 1973.
"During my five years at St. Agnes, I grew very close to Helen and have nothing but fond recollections of her. She was a pastor's dream and really pitched in wherever she was needed," said Bishop Victor Galeone, now bishop of St. Augustine, Fla. "She gave 100 percent of herself and always had that infectious smile."
Miss Bopp was awarded the Archdiocesan Medal of Honor in 1987, and a Papal Medal of Honor in 1996 for her work with the retired School Sisters of Notre Dame during Pope John Paul II's visit to Baltimore in 1995.
A world traveler, Miss Bopp had visited all the states except Idaho. She also had been an avid Baltimore Colts fan and held season tickets.
The longtime Catonsville resident, who earlier had lived in Woodlawn, was a member of the Pilot Club and the Telephone Pioneers of America.
A Mass of Christian burial was offered at her church Tuesday.
Surviving are a sister, Mary Elizabeth "Beth" Curley of Catonsville; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.